“Are they kids that they do not know?” - Salman Butt weighs in after ‘spikegate’ raises specter of ball-tampering

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has lashed out at England fielders after footage emerged of them allegedly stepping on the ball with spiked boots during the Lord’s Test on Sunday. According to Butt, they are Test cricketers and should have known better.

In a picture that went viral, an England fielder is seen trapping the ball with his boot. The incident occurred during the 35th over of India’s second innings at Lord’s.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt, questioned the conduct of England players and commented:

“Two England players had placed the ball under spikes during the Test match. If this is intentional, it is a matter of concern. Even if it is not intentional, it must still be addressed. You cannot do this. It is possible to tamper the ball in this way. The bowler can get a lot of advantage if the ball is well maintained. The referee must look into this.”

Asked whether he felt it was intentional, Butt replied:

“Are they kids that they do not know? Is this a school match to say that they did it by chance? Twenty-one cameras are keeping a watching on Asian bowlers -- Pakistanis and others -- checking whether they are doing anything with the ball. In this case, we have a clearly visible picture of spikes on the ball. There needs to be some talk on it. I hope it happens.”

Yeh kya ho raha hai. Is it ball tampering by Eng ya covid preventive measures 😀 pic.twitter.com/RcL4I2VJsC

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 15, 2021

Michael Vaughan, Stuart Broad defend England fielders over ‘spikes on ball’ controversy

Former England captain Michael Vaughan defended the English fielders. According to Vaughan, the incident did not look deliberate and added that social media was exaggerating the matter. In an interaction with Cricbuzz, Vaughan said:

"You know what? I didn't even see it. I didn't even notice that someone had trodded on the ball. Sometimes, a still picture can make things look a damn sight worse. I'd also say if England did try to do it, it didn't work because the ball didn't move an inch, they aren't very good at it. I don't think there was anything like that. I went to see the coverage afterwards to make sure. I was studying to see if England had tried to really screw with the ballI didn't think they had but obviously a still shot picture and then it goes and escalates across the media, never looks great."

My comments are- Woody tried to nut meg Burnsy by tapping the ball through his legs (a very common occurrence) & he missed and kicked the ball there by accident. Instead of screenshotting the pic, watch the video- quite plain & easy to see

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 15, 2021

While responding to a couple of fans on Twitter, Stuart Broad claimed that the fielders trod on the ball by accident and there was nothing controversial about it. He also pointed out that the ball too wasn’t changed as there was no damage caused.